Hear Taylor Swift Like Never, Ever Before in This Clip for Her New Song "Out of the Woods"

When I first heard that Taylor Swift was releasing a new song at midnight, my initial reaction was—best Monday ever. But then I made a major mistake. I watched the video of her describing the inspiration for the "Out of the Woods" first, where she tells us that "this song is about the fragility and kind of breakable nature of some relationships." Talk about a pin in my balloon. Another song about a failed relationship? I love ya, T.Swift, but I'm getting a little bit tired of the ol' cashing-in-on-the-breakups routine (and actually starting to feel bad for your exes). That all changed, though, when I listened to the 45-second clip of the song, which premiered on Good Morning America this morning. This is not the "We Are Never, Ever, Ever Getting Back Together" Taylor Swift. Nor the "I Knew You Were Trouble" Swift, or the "Mean" Swift (I could go on). This is Taylor like we have never heard her before, with no traces of the upbeat, sing-along, breakup anthems we have grown so accustomed to. Take a listen: Even with Robin Roberts talking over the track, I can tell that this song is a huge step out of

When I first heard that Taylor Swift was releasing a new song at midnight, my initial reaction was—best Monday ever. But then I made a major mistake. I watched the video of her describing the inspiration for the "Out of the Woods" first, where she tells us that "this song is about the fragility and kind of breakable nature of some relationships." Talk about a pin in my balloon. Another song about a failed relationship? I love ya, T.Swift, but I'm getting a little bit tired of the ol' cashing-in-on-the-breakups routine (and actually starting to feel bad for your exes).

That all changed, though, when I listened to the 45-second clip of the song, which premiered on Good Morning America this morning. This is not the "We Are Never, Ever, Ever Getting Back Together" Taylor Swift. Nor the "I Knew You Were Trouble" Swift, or the "Mean" Swift (I could go on). This is Taylor like we have never heard her before, with no traces of the upbeat, sing-along, breakup anthems we have grown so accustomed to. Take a listen:

Even with Robin Roberts talking over the track, I can tell that this song is a huge step out of the box for Swift (even bigger than when she ditched her trademark red lip): It's moody and strong and for some reason reminds me of Pat Benatar. And now, all of her inspiration makes perfect sense. "I wanted to make sure that these songs [on 1989] sounded exactly the way the emotions felt when I felt them" she says. "This was a relationship where I was kind of living day to day, wondering where it was going...and this song sounds exactly like that frantic feeling of anxiety and questioning." I couldn't agree more, Ms. Swift. And I'm sorry for doubting you in the first place.